What's in a Name
by GryphonoftheNorth
Summary: Snapshots, oneshot, something or another about the Potter family through the generations.


"What do you think we should name him?"

Lily Potter raised her eyebrows challengingly, her lips nonetheless quirking upwards into a smile. Dammit, there he went again, making her smile when she was trying to be intimidating. _"Him?"_ She repeated, "I thought we decided to let the baby's sex be a surprise?"

"Well, a surprise for _you_." James said, flashing her his signature cocky grin she'd long since learned to find endearing. He closed his eyes and placed a hand on her rounded stomach 'hmm' and 'mmhmm'ing like a master artisan at work. "Yeah, definitely a boy. Sirius Jr. and I have been talking behind your back, and we decided that'd be a stupid name for a girl."

She couldn't help it. She laughed. "_Sirius Jr_? Uh…no, I'm not naming our firstborn child after _Sirius_, even if it is a boy. With my luck he'd turn out just like him and you'd all drive me mad." Lily paused, tapping her chin with playful thoughtfulness. "Now Remus or Peter maybe…"

"Ohoho, because they're so innocent? I could tell you some interesting stories, Mrs. Potter." He teased, nudging her with his shoulder. "Like the time Pete snuck into the Slytherin common room and-"

"Oh, hush." Lily chastised, smacking his chest lightly. "That was your idea and everyone knows it."

"You wound me!" James said with faux shock, placing a dramatic hand over his heart. "That one was Sirius' idea, I'll have you know."

"Oh, like you didn't have a part in it."

A sly grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Well…"

She just rolled her eyes and smiled despite herself, and at that moment it was easy to pretend that everything was alright with the world. There was no Lord Voldemort, no Death Eaters, no Order of the Phoenix that had to fight them. Just two people in lover who were going to have a baby. She reveled in that moment, clung to it like a lifeline for a long, comfortable silence until… "How about Harry?"

"Harry?" James wrinkled his nose. "It's like you're dooming him to male-patterned baldness."

"My grandfather was named Harry!" She protested. Well…on second thought, Gramps _had_ gone bald pretty early, but she wasn't about to tell _him_ that.

"Exactly! Do you want our son to come out a bald old man? Sirius, on the other hand, has plenty of hair…"

"I don't care what bet you lost, we're not naming him Sirius!" She said, smacking him on the back of the head and earning herself a cheeky grin.

"Fine, fine." James held his hands up in surrender. "We'll name our poor, bald son Harry. And Harriet if it's a girl."

Now it was Lily's turn to wrinkle her nose. "Harriet? You'd better _hope_ it's a boy." She shook her head. "And this is why we're never getting a dog. You'd probably name it something stupid, like Kibbles."

James scoffed. "We don't need a dog, that's what Sirius is for." He paused a beat. "And it'd be Sergeant Woof, thank you very much."

* * *

><p>"Daaaad!"<p>

"Whatever he says, it's not true!"

"Dad! James is making fun of me!"

"Oh, well, that's true. But only a little bit!"

Harry Potter set his quill down and sigh. Head meet desk. "James, leave your brother alone." He called from his study, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes wearily. Not all that long ago, if you had told him raising three children would rival defeating the Dark Lord in difficulty and sheer frustration he…might have believed you actually. But back then the prospect of having children had been more terrifying than the confusing mix of adoration and irritation it was in reality. It certainly didn't help matters that James took great joy in getting into as much trouble as possible.

"Dad!" Albus cried indignantly, sliding into his office all flushed. "He still won't _stop_!"

Harry slowly replaced his glasses. Of course Ginny had taken little Lily out for a playdate with one of the Longbottom children, leaving him stuck with the role of bad cop. Just his luck. "Jaaames." He called in his best 'you're in trouble, mister' voice. "Come here a moment."

For a beat the house was silent except for the squeaking his James' shoes against the floor and Albus' annoyed huffs. "Yeah, Dad?" James said as he poked his head through the doorway, a silly grin plastered over his face and his hair a curly black mess that looked like it hadn't seen a comb in the better part of a month.

"What have you been saying to upset Albus?"

James rolled his eyes and shrugged noncommittally. "_I_ was just saying that both _my_ namesakes were Gryffindors and _I'm_ Gryffindor, and one of Al's is a _Slytherin_ so…"

"I'm not going to be a Slytherin!" Albus blurted out, clenching his hands into fists."

"Are to-"

"Boys!" Harry snapped, cutting them off. He took a deep breath. This was dangerous territory, better go about this carefully. "There is nothing wrong with being a Slytherin." He said slowly, but firmly.

"Yeah, there's nothing wrong with being a squib either, but that doesn't mean I want to be one." James snarked without even missing a beat, arousing even more ire from his younger brother.

"I am _not_ a squib!"

"Never said you were, Alby. Little defensive there, are we?"

"I-"

"_James_!" He interjected again, the beginnings of a headache throbbing in his forehead. "Go to your room!"

Now that took the wind right out of his sails. "But, _Dad_! I was gonna go over to Teddy's later and practice-"

"Not anymore you're not! Think about that before you start harassing your brother!"

"Fine!" He huffed with his usual theatrics. "But when I don't make the team this year it'll be _all your fault_." With that James stomped out of the room, the house shaking a moment later as he slammed his bedroom door behind him.

Harry turned to his younger son. "Now, Albus-"

"Thanks, Dad." The boy mumbled before ducking his head and nearly fleeing the room, leaving his father merely confused.

_Kids_.

* * *

><p>"She's going to kill you, you know."<p>

"Trust me, I know." Then why couldn't he wipe that silly grin off his face? He couldn't say for sure, but it probably had something to do with the seemingly impossibly tiny baby girl wrapped in a pink blanket in his arms. Was she supposed to be that tiny? Or was that just how they were? He'd practically grilled the Healer who'd handed her off to him until Grandmum Weasley smacked him on the back of the head and told him that she was _fine_ and even if the Healers didn't know, _she_ certainly did. Never doubt a woman with seven children and umpteen hundred grandchildren on such matters.

"Sir," A Healer, different from the one he'd verbally berated, but by now they were all starting to look the same, said as he poked his head out of the hospital room. "You can see your wife now." Of course to top everything off there'd been some sort of complication that involved a lot of medical jargon he didn't understand and even more ostentatious anxiety on James' part until they'd finally convinced him to _calm the hell down, it would be fine._ And now, a couple hours later, evidently it had been fine, but he hadn't known that _then_.

"Hey," He said softly as he approached the hospital bed, not wanting to disturb the lightly sleeping child in his arms. That and hospitals always sort of weirded him out. Too clean, he supposed. "How you feelin'?"

"Death warmed over sounds about right." She mumbled, shifting to hold her arms out demandingly despite the weariness surrounding her eyes. "Lemme see her."

James gently transferred the bundle into her arms, grinning like a fool as he reached over to twitch the baby's chubby little arm in an imitation of a wave. "Say hello to Mommy, Jamie."

A pause.

A longer pause.

"_What_ did you just call her?"

Oh, here it came. "Jamie." He said with oversold innocence. "Jamie Something Potter. I thought you might want some input on the middle name a-"

She glared tiredly up at him. "James Sirius Potter, we are _not_ naming our daughter after you."

"We can't change it now! Look, she already responds to it!"

"She's an _infant_, not a _dog_!"

"I wanted a dog! But instead we got a cat like you wanted, so her name is Jamie, like I want. It's called compromise an-"

"You're such an ass."

James grinned, "You say that like it's news to you."

"…It is kind of a cute name."

"Told yooou."

"But you're still an ass."

"And that's why you love me."


End file.
